Nigeria’s Super Eagles may have “missed out on automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup” after losing the Group C slot to South Africa.
However, a lifeline remains in “Thursday’s semi-final play-off against Gabon,” which offers a chance to reach the competition billed for North America next year.
Nigeria finished the Group C qualifiers with “17 points, one behind the Bafana Bafana.”
The 2013 AFCON winners only “sneaked into the play-offs courtesy of a better goal difference ahead of the Stallions of Burkina Faso,” requiring a “4-0 defeat of their neighbour, the Benin Republic.”
Facing the Panthers of Gabon at the Stade Prince Moulay Al Hassan in Rabat, Morocco, Nigeria “may hope for a similar outcome to progress.”
Despite a “terrible” start to the qualifiers, managing only “three points in their first four games,” Nigeria finished on 17 points, a sharp contrast to Gabon, who reached the play-offs with “25 points, one behind Group F winners, Côte d’Ivoire.”
Nigeria vs Gabon: Form Guide
Nigeria’s team has “now been steadied under Eric Chelle, who took over in January.”
The Super Eagles have “won three of their last four World Cup qualification games, drawing only one game away to rivals South Africa.”
Their opponents, Gabon, “posted a similar result, winning three and drawing one (against Côte d’Ivoire) in their last four World Cup qualification matches.”
Osimhen, Aubameyang Headline Stars
Both sides feature attacking talents, with a former African Player of the Year, Victor Osimhen, headlining Nigeria’s squad. Gabon can “bank on the experience of Olympique Marseille star, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang,” who has featured for major European clubs.
Osimhen scored a “historic hat-trick against Benin,” while Aubameyang “netted a haul in the last round of World Cup qualifiers.”
Nigeria will “bank on the Galatasaray star’s rich vein of form coming into this game.”
Osimhen recently “bagged a hat-trick in Match Day 4 of the Champions League against Dutch side Ajax,” putting him “in the competition’s top scorers’ chart ahead of the likes of Erling Haaland.”
Other stars expected to play an “integral part in Thursday’s match” for Nigeria include Fulham defender Calvin Bassey and his teammate Samuel Chukwueze, current African Player of the Year Ademola Lookman (Atalanta forward), and FC Paris’ Simon Moses.
The Panthers will count on Denis Bouanga and Noah Lemina to support the 36-year-old
Aubameyang. Interestingly, the latter’s father, Pierre-François Aubameyang, “played for the Central Africans against Nigeria, losing 0-3 to the Super Eagles in a group stage match at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia, a title Nigeria went on to win.”
Aubameyang, who “scored all four goals in the dismantling of The Gambia away in the qualifying series,” will have “regular partners Denis Bouanga and Noah Lemina as co-conspirators against Nigeria.”
Nigeria vs Gabon: A Head-to-Head Record
Before Thursday’s match, the two teams “had met on nine occasions,” the last being Nigeria’s “2-0 victory over Gabon in 2005.”
While Nigeria lost the 2006 World Cup ticket to Angola’s Palancas Negras on head-to-head record, the Super Eagles have “enjoyed the lion’s share of wins against Gabon, winning five out of the nine games they have played so far.”
The Panthers’ “only victory dates back 36 years ago when they beat the Super Eagles 2-1 in an Italia ‘90 World Cup qualifier.”
That defeat was “costly for Nigeria,” which subsequently failed to qualify.
Match Details
The match is part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Playoffs. It will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. (Nigerian time/WAT) at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium.
Conclusion
The match will be a “winner-takes-it-all game.” For the Super Eagles, “nothing short of victory will be acceptable for the teeming fans across the globe,” while the Panthers “will also want to prove a point that they are no pushovers.”
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